Snowday
by Kayfoo
Summary: Modern AU: Marius loves spending time with his girlfriend, but he kind of wishes they'd taken another route around campus to get to the student center. He's never had so much snow down his shirt or been so mad at his friends.


Combferre's whole body jolted forward from the strength of the blow to the back of his head, causing his books to tumble from his arms and into the muddy snow. He sighed, bent down to pick them up, and flung a handful of snow in the direction the original snowball came from. A grunt of surprise sounded behind him, and he knew that he'd hit his target.

"What the hell was that for?" Marius asked. He brushed the loose snow off of his black woolen coat. "You almost hit Cosette."

"You started it. If you can't take a snowball, maybe you shouldn't be throwing them."

"I didn't throw anything," Marius harrumphed, and Cosette, giggling, patted him lightly on the shoulder.

Another snowball arched through the air. It smacked Marius on the cheek and caused him to stumble backward and over the curb. Cosette, almost in tears now from laughter but trying to hide it, bent down to help him. She leapt back up, squealing as a snowball smacked into the butt of her jeans.

A barrage of snowballs pelted downward from the heavens, and a voice screamed, "Charge!" Courfeyrac, holding his hat onto his head with one hand and a snowball in the other, skidded down a hill towards the trio. The rest of their friends spilled out behind them, including Gavroche on Bahorel's shoulders armed to the teeth with snowballs, and Eponine in her ragged sneakers. She jumped on Marius' back and shoved a handful of snow down his collar.

"Eponine, Jesus Christ," Marius shrieked, his teeth chattering. Combeferre and Cosette had taken refuge behind a parked car and were lobbing street-dirtied snow in unpack handfuls over the windshield. Bahorel deposited Gavroche onto the ground and began to help Feuilly roll a snow fort. Courfeyrac continued smacking Marius with close-range snowballs until he grabbed Eponine's hand and made for the car-fort.

"This is a terrible idea," Marius hissed, peeking over the car's hood and ducking back down as a snowball whizzed by his face. "I have to be at class in half an hour." He frowned. "We were going to get lunch."

"We can get lunch every day," Cosette said, her cheeks flushed with excitement, "But it's not every day that I can throw something at Enjolras and not get that disappointed, petulant look from him."

"Enjolras is with them?" Combferre asked. Unlike Marius, he squinted through the windows at their assailants.

"Yeah, he's got that cruddy red scarf he always wears. He's like a blinking target at night time." Eponine, obviously pleased to be recruited by the smaller faction, began rolling snowballs. Cosette settled into helping her, and soon they had a stock pile behind the left front tire.

The field ahead of them had gone completely quiet, and Eponine risked a look around the car's headlights.

"What do you see?" asked Marius, sounding genuinely nervous.

"Well, all eight of them are trying to huddle behind the same three-foot square snow block. It's pretty funny. Bossuet's butt is sticking out. Think I can hit it from here?" She whispered.

"Eight? Who's missing?"

"Joly thinks he's got the flu, so he's in bed all hocked up on Nyquil. But Gavroche is visiting and will cover for him." She squinted one eye closed, took aim, and threw a particularly muddy snowball in an impressive arc. It smacked loudly into Bossuet's hip, and he went slipping down. Eponine cackled as she fell back into place beside the other three. "Nailed it."

"Nice one," Cosette said, offering the other girl a tentative high five. Eponine accepted with a small smile.

Snowballs rained down on them, and the little group pressed against the side of the car to avoid being hit. Combferre sighed, "Looks like I'll be missing class today. Oh, well. They should have cancelled," and he tossed another snowball over the car roof, earning him a little, 'ow!' that could only have been Courfeyrac.

"I can't miss another class," Marius mumbled, "I've skipped two already, and the professor's really strict about…well, about everything. He'll knock me down a letter grade if I have one more unexcused."

"Okay!" said Cosette, a determined look rising to her face, "This has become mission: get Marius to class."

"Seconded," said Eponine.

"Fine," sighed Combeferre. He tucked his books down his shirt and gathered a few snowballs up. "So how are we doing this?" he asked.

"The human shield method," whispered Cosette.

"What?"

Cosette leapt around the front of the car, her arms weighed down with snowballs, and sprinted toward the small snow fort. Marius sat there, his mouth hanging open, and Eponine pushed him, laughing.

"Don't let her noble sacrifice be in vain! Run to your class," she giggled. Marius picked himself up and stumbled backward in a daze, watching his girlfriend, shrieking with laughter, get pummeled down with snow. Grantaire picked her up in a fireman's carry just as Eponine ran around the front of the car.

Combferre ran out with them, tripping on the curb and stumbling forward. He was met by Gavroche who latched onto his waist and pulled him down into the snow. His breath made an audible sound as it was forced out of his lungs.

Cosette was whispering into Grantaire's ear. He set her down gently, helped her roll an appropriately huge snowball, and with her help, heaved it through the air towards Enjolras. Enjolras, who had been directing an assault on the rapidly fleeing Marius, was caught unawares. He turned just in time to see Cosette and Grantaire's over-the-top high five. He marched toward them, an impressive glare on his face. The two immediately assumed innocent expressions, their hands in their pockets.

"I saw that," he said, his brows drawn tight. Cosette and Grantaire exchanged a nervous look.

Enjolras lunged forward, putting all his weight on them, and the trio fell to the snowy ground with surprised gasps. Enjolras inhaled snow from laughing too hard and started coughing. He rolled right over Grantaire and back onto his feet, straightening his coat and shaking clumped snow out of his blond hair.

Courfeyrac's head popped up from where he'd been hiding behind the snow fort. "Okay, guys, I officially can't feel my face. Let's go back to the apartment and have hot chocolate and pizza rolls."

"There's no way we have enough mugs for everyone," Enjolras said, brushing down his pant legs.

"I'll bring some over," Combferre said, "I have to stop back at the house and pick up new socks anyway. My toes are numb."

"It's decided," Courfeyrac cheered. He started trudging back up the hill and toward the apartment. Everyone followed suit, Eponine grabbing Gavroche's hand and pulling him up from where he lay making snow angels on the ground.


End file.
